Survey finds health disparities in two Pacific Islander populations

ANN ARBOR'A survey of two groups of Pacific Islanders draws comparisons between the health of two populations of Pacific Islanders residing in California, revealing they lag behind the state in several key areas of health. Led by Sela Panapasa, a scientist at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research, a group of researchers administered surveys to 240 Samoan and Tongan households in California. They included a companion survey for adolescents, ages 13 to 17, living in the home. The survey found that both Samoans and Tongans had higher rates of hypertension than Californians at large, smoked at about four times the rate of Californians, were less likely to have health insurance, and used available health care services at lower rates, relying heavily on emergency room care. Panapasa is presenting these results as part the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service's Office of Minority Health's kickoff to April's National Minority Health Month. The theme for the National Minority Health Month is "Bridging Health Equity Across Communities." The researchers found that about 61 percent of Samoans and nearly 53 percent of Tongans reported having health insurance compared to 79 percent of Californians. Both groups also tended to delay medical care?likely because the groups were underinsured.